How to Copy a SharePoint List Structure: Columns, Content Types and Views

You built a list with the right columns, a few content types and a handful of tidy views, and now you need the same thing on another site. You don't want the items, or you want them later. SharePoint gives you more than one way to copy that structure, and each one stops at a different place.

Can you copy a SharePoint list's structure to another site?

Yes. The built-in From existing list option copies a list's columns, views and formatting into a new list, and you can pick a list from another site. It does not copy items, and it covers lists, not libraries. For content types, list settings, document libraries or a move between tenants, you need PnP PowerShell or a tool such as SharePoint Smart Copy.

What counts as "structure"?

• Columns: names, types, choices, defaults, and any validation or formatting on them.
• Content types: custom content types and which one each item uses.
• Views: filters, sorting, grouping, visible columns, totals, formatting and the default view.
• List settings: content approval, check-out, attachments, folder creation, item-level security and the list's own validation rule.
• Library extras: the document template and default values on folders.

Option 1: Create a list from an existing list (built in)

1. Go to the site where you want the new list and choose New > List.
2. Choose From existing list.
3. Select the site that holds the source list, select the list, then choose Next.
4. Name the new list. Tick Show in site navigation if you want it in the menu.

Per Microsoft's guide, the entire list structure is copied, including views, formatting and columns, and the actual content of the original list isn't copied. Know the limits:

• You can't use a list that has more than 80 list views.
• A list with automated rules only brings its first two rules; add the rest by hand.
• The page doesn't mention content types, list settings or permissions, so test a copy first.
• It's on the Create a list page and is described for lists. It isn't a library option.

Option 2: Save as template or a PnP provisioning template

The classic Save list as template command is often missing on modern sites, because custom scripting is blocked by default, so don't plan around it. The scriptable route is PnP PowerShell: export the list into a provisioning template with Get-PnPSiteTemplate and its Lists handler, then apply it to the target site with Invoke-PnPSiteTemplate. You get fields, content types and views in an XML file you can edit. You also own the script, and the edge cases. See the Smart Copy vs PnP PowerShell comparison for where each fits.

Option 3: Copy the structure with Smart Copy

Smart Copy is a free, open-source Windows app. When it creates a list or library on the target, it recreates the structure as well as the content, and it has a mode that copies the structure alone.

• Views: shared views with their filter, sorting, grouping, columns and order, row limit, totals, formatting and default view. Calendar, Gantt and datasheet views keep their own type.
• Content types: custom content types are created on the target site and added to the list, and copied items, files and folders are put on the matching type.
• Settings: content approval, check-out, attachments, folder creation, item-level security and the list's validation rule.
• Columns: validation rules and column formatting.
• Libraries: the document template and folder default values.

In Site scope it also brings site columns, site content types, navigation and site settings. A Structure to copy section on the Options step has a checkbox for each kind of structure, so you can switch parts off. See the Smart Copy feature tour for the full options.

Copy structure only, with no items or files

1. Pick the source list, library or site and the target site.
2. On the Options step, untick Copy files and list items (content).
3. Leave the Structure to copy boxes ticked for what you need, then run the copy.
4. Open the run report. It records which structure was copied, and what could not be.

This is handy for building a clean template site, or for creating the same set of lists on several sites before you load data. If you do want the data too, leave content ticked: version history, metadata and permissions copy with it. For a move between Microsoft 365 organizations, see the tenant-to-tenant walkthrough.

Which option should you use?

What Smart Copy does not copy

• Personal and hidden views, and view types other than calendar, Gantt, datasheet and board views.
• Lookup site columns; a lookup column on a content type is reported rather than recreated.
• The site title, time zone and regional settings, because SharePoint refuses to write them over REST.
• Document Set welcome pages and shared columns, and the generated links under the Recent navigation node.

Anything that can't be copied is listed on that item's row in the report, and the rest of the copy carries on. If a list or library already exists on the target, Smart Copy only adds the content types and views it lacks and leaves its own settings alone.

Before you copy

• Try one small list first and compare the result to the source.
• Check lookup columns: the list they look up must exist on the target.
• Decide whether you want items now, later, or never, and tick or untick content to match.
• Read the report. A column or view that didn't copy is named there.

Need help with a bigger move?

If you are rebuilding many lists, consolidating sites or moving between tenants, see our SharePoint migration service, or get in touch.

Related

• Copy a SharePoint library to another site with version history
• Free SharePoint tenant-to-tenant migration
• Smart Copy vs PnP PowerShell
• SharePoint migration: complete reference